


Nothing To Say ('Cause It's Already Said)

by Lothiriel84



Series: I Was The One Who Let You Know (I Was Your Sorry-Ever-After) [3]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:31:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>When I look on your eyes then I find that I'll do fine / When I look on your eyes then I'll do better</i> (Connells)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing To Say ('Cause It's Already Said)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Linguini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguini/gifts), [TomatoFujoshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoFujoshi/gifts).



Their little arrangement wasn’t exactly a secret anymore, and yet there was no way Carolyn would even remotely admit she might be in anything close to a relationship with her stubborn, infuriating, oddly vulnerable First Officer. It was bad enough that some sort of feeling she was loath to call affection appeared to have crept up on them unnoticed; she was damned if she was going to make a fool of herself by acknowledging such sentiment in front of anyone at MJN Air – be it her son, her Captain, or even the man himself.

Still, as she woke up in the morning, she found it increasingly difficult to disentangle herself from his embrace and face the day as if nothing had happened between the two of them. She never allowed him to stay the night unless Arthur was at his girlfriend’s, and even on those occasions she more or less literally threw him out of her bed quite early in the morning, urging him to leave so as to avoid a potentially awkward conversation with her son.

(Well, their son, quite possibly – but they had both agreed neither of them was ready to face the consequences of seeking concrete evidence either way.)

On that particular morning, however, looking at the man sleeping peacefully at her side she simply couldn’t bring herself to rouse him from his much needed rest. In the end she resolved she’d better fix herself a cup of coffee first – and maybe one for Douglas too, if she felt magnanimous enough to do so.

The last thing she was expecting as she padded into the kitchen was to find out Arthur had in fact decided to come back earlier than he usually did, and was busy making what she supposed were scrambled eggs. She blinked a couple of times, and was met with a grin that was far too cheerful for half past seven in the morning.

“Hi, Mum! I didn’t know when you’d wake up, so I thought I’d start breakfast, just in case. Do you reckon Douglas likes his eggs on a toast?”

There weren’t all that many things that could render Carolyn speechless, but apparently this was one of them; she was still trying to come up with an appropriate response when Arthur furrowed his brow and started to speak again.

“Did I do something wrong? Perhaps I’d better leave you two to it.”

She shook her head, eventually finding her voice. “No, dear heart, that was very sweet of you. I just had no idea you – well, never mind.”

“Is this about you and Douglas?” Arthur asked at length. “Mum, I don’t mind that you two got together. Promise.”

“We’re not – ” she started, only to trail off in spite of herself. She took a deep breath, then poured herself a generous amount of coffee. “I’m sure toast will be fine, dear.”

“Righto!” he replied, offering her one of his dazzling smiles. That was how Douglas found them when he strolled downstairs some ten minutes later – Carolyn still nursing her cup of lukewarm coffee, while Arthur buzzed around humming snatches of songs to himself.

“Good morning, Carolyn,” he muttered eventually, the faintest trace of embarrassment seeping through his tone. “Hello, Arthur.”

“Hi, Douglas! Wow, this is brilliant, isn’t it? Here, have some coffee – breakfast will be ready in a tick.”

And that was when it finally hit her: Douglas was already a father to Arthur in all the ways that truly mattered, they didn’t need a piece of paper to prove anything in that regard. They might not be a family in the traditional sense, but they still looked out for each other the way families did, and at the end of the day that counted infinitely more than anything else.

She risked a smile at her – whatever he was, but she surely wasn’t going to use the word ‘boyfriend’. Douglas paused with his cup of coffee halfway to his mouth, then his eyes softened in something close enough to a genuine smile.


End file.
